Jazzhoops   Going to Athens by Stef Siepel The 1992 Olympics, held in Barcelona, was a memorable event. Vitaly Shcherbo won six gold medals, four of them in one day. Carl Lewis won two gold medals, swimmer Aleksandr Popov won two gold and two silver medals, and Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia won the 10,000m run to become the first female black African Olympic champion. And then there was the American Men’s Basketball Team, also known as the “Dream Team.” That team would write history, not only because the team won the gold medal, but also because of the team members. “Sir” Charles, Larry Bird, “Magic” Johnson, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, John Stockton, Pat Ewing, and five others were part of that team, and most of them were world famous basketball players. But in Athens, twelve years later, a lot of these legendary athletes won’t compete at such a high level. Ian Thorpe and Pieter van den Hoogenband have dethroned Popov, “King” Carl Lewis and Shcherbo didn’t even attend Sydney, while many of the original “Dream Team” members don’t play anymore. Tulu, however, won gold in Sydney, and she is still going strong, pulling off a great victory in Doha not long ago. Jordan is still playing at a high level, but he will call it a career after this year. That leaves Stockton and Malone and, like Tulu, they are still on schedule to be part of the Olympics in Athens. As a matter of fact, Malone will almost certainly be there. ESPN reported on the seventeenth of February that Karl Malone will join the USA basketball team, which will try to qualify for the Olympics this summer in Puerto Rico. Malone, who will turn 40 this summer, will play there, and (hopefully) in Athens as well. He joins Tim Duncan, Ray Allen, Tracy McGrady, Jason Kidd, and Mike Bibby, while Kobe Bryant will probably be the next to make the team. It wasn’t a total surprise when ESPN announced this, since people were already talking about him joining the team back in November. Mike Monroe, a Fox Sports columnist, asked Malone if he would be interested in joining the team. “Yes,” Malone said, “Hell, yes. I'd love to take my whole family and let them enjoy the whole experience.” Of course, it isn’t Malone’s, or Monroe’s, decision, and Malone knows that. He thought his chances of making the team weren’t that good. "But I don't see that happening. They don't want a 40-year-old, 41-year-old or whatever, out there." And in a way, he is right. Why would the world want to see Karl Malone’s improved jump shot? Why would they want to see an old geezer at the sideline, waiting to come in? “When you make open shots it's not exciting,” Sloan said. “When you make a simple shot it's not exciting. When you make layups it's not exciting. When you pass the ball where it's supposed to go it's not exciting.” Some people wonder if Malone is an exciting player, but the committee who is in charge of the American basketball team couldn’t care less. Last summer, in Indiana, the American team was humiliated. The country that has so much success with this sport, was simply out-played. It is time to regain some of the pride the “Dream Team” built up in Barcelona; it is time to show the world the best players are still from America, which isn’t as obvious as it once was. The NBA currently has more foreign players than ever. Stojakovic, Parker, Divac, Ming, Nash, Nowitzki, Kukoc, Kirilenko, Olowokandi, and a lot of others were born outside of the USA. In the NBA, foreign players aren’t an exception anymore, and although it is undoubtedly the best league in the world, the country in which it is based might not be the best country anymore; not if we are to believe the results of the last World Championship anyway. But that is something the Americans want to set straight, and the best way to do it is to select the best players, but they don’t always form the best team. You will also need some veteran leadership. "They talk about leadership, they talk about having veterans, they talk about having been there before," O'Connor said of USA Basketball and its men's committee chairman, Stu Jackson. "Well, those two guys (Stockton and Malone) are it." One of those guys, Malone, has indeed been named to the team. Veteran leadership can be interpreted in several ways, and one way is that of a player/coach, who might get a few minutes on the court, if he is lucky. That would be disrespectful to a NBA legend, and it wouldn’t be good for the team either, simply because Malone can still play. After a hesitant start, Malone is delivering again, as he is averaging more than 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. With those numbers alone, the chance of him going to Athens would be pretty slim, but his devotion to the game, his will to win, and above all his experience, and the fact that he has already been there, make him a perfect fit for the pretty young team. But when you talk about devotion, the will to win, and experience, then another Jazz player might come to mind. John Stockton has all those qualities as well, and he is still going strong. And who would be a better fit than him? Not only does he bring leadership, a quality that is very important at the point guard position, but I think he would also be good for the team off the court, as Stockton is known for being a funny, and a very modest man. And with all those egos those two characteristics could come in handy. But would Stockton be interested in going to Athens? Mike Monroe also asked the question to Stockton, but he didn’t give the same answer as Malone. "Would I do it? Not do it? Well, if they ever wanted to choose me I'd take a good, long look at it because it's still a chance to represent your country and those chances don't come every day." Monroe again asked the question, assuring him it wouldn’t sound like he was lobbying to make the team, something which Stockton wanted to avoid. This time he received a real answer. "Yeah," he said, "but if the answer comes out it looks like I'm lobbying for it. So I won't answer it directly, but I think I've answered it for you." Can you imagine Stockton feeding McGrady and Bryant, while still hearing that good old Stockton-to-Malone? It wouldn’t be that bad, would it? Stockton himself might not be the most entertaining player, but he can still set up some highlights. And, as they found out the hard way last summer, it isn’t all about entertaining the crowd anymore. They need to win, and Stockton can make them win again. He can still distribute the ball for an easy lay-up, and with his veteran leadership he, and Malone, could help the young guys seal the victory. They can make a team of all those great individuals, and if they indeed play like a team it will be hard to stop them. And believe me, Malone and Stockton don’t want to be part of the team just to be on the television; they just want to play, represent their country, and make everyone proud. "It's pretty patriotic," Malone said. Since he never wore a military uniform, "this is one of the only ways to serve my country. Wearing a USA uniform and hearing the national anthem. . . . I'm not representing just myself and my family, I'm representing the USA, the Jazz, Salt Lake City." Stockton and Malone would both be a tremendous help to the team, not only because of their experience, but also because they still are two of the best players in the NBA, certainly as far as team play is concerned. They might not be the best individual players anymore, but they would rank very high on a list of best team players. They would help the team to show that the USA is still the best, and that last summer was just a fluke. Malone is already selected, and hopefully John Stockton will follow, since both (and Stockton even a tad more than Malone) represent the real Olympic thought. Stockton still thinks the Olympics are something special. "As a thrill, it's tough to beat the Olympics. It's a dream of a lifetime." And it would be good to add someone to the team, who still sees the Olympics that way, as it is, as Stockton said, a chance to represent your country, and to be part of something great. And that, when all is said and done, is still what the Olympics are all about.